The Boer goats climbing up a 15-foot-high "skywalk" is enough to pique anyone’s curiosity about what’s going on over at Yoder’s Country Market. For many motorists traveling through Madison County, that alone is why they exit U.S. 29. But as devoted regulars know, Yoder’s is more than a highway-side tourist attraction. It’s an experience: Children with faces covered in ice cream, a slice of homemade pie snuck in between meals, a restful lounge in one of the Amish-built rocking chairs that fill the expansive front porch.
It’s those experiences — curated by a single family, maintained by a dedicated team of employees and rooted in the Mennonite faith — that has kept Yoder’s in business for so long — 40 years.
“Our team approach to business and the family atmosphere will keep us going into the future and for as long as the Lord allows," owner Michael Yoder, who belongs to the second generation of Yoder shopkeepers, told The Daily Progress.
His parents, Owen and Erma Yoder, first began selling a simple selection of groceries in a small, 77-square-foot room in their Madison family home in 1984.
“Dad and mom hung up a sign that said, ‘Yoder’s Bulk Foods,’ and I remember standing at the counter and using the counting machine to add up customers’ orders," Michael Yoder recounted. "Most days we had maybe 10 customers, and they were mainly neighbors from area farms."
Nine months after opening, the family tripled the size of their makeshift market and then quickly outgrew that space. In 1988, the Yoder family built a 2,400-square-foot building in Pratts, a few miles south of the town of Madison. The family lived in half of the building and ran their business, renamed Yoder’s Country Market, in the other half.
It was truly a family business, and on the family enjoyed taking part in. Michael Yoder’s grandmother Amanda was weighing sandwich meats and packaging spices in the store well into her 90s.
But the business was not strictly conventional. Owen Yoder was a proponent of word-of-mouth; his business grew because it was a good business, not because of marketing gimmicks, his son said.
“Dad was never big on advertising. He passed away 3 1/2 years ago, and he just wanted to keep blessing the community. It was never about the advertising, it was always about the Lord first,” said Michael Yoder.
In 2007, Michael Yoder and his wife Heather bought the business from his parents. The second generation of Yoders expanded the property in 2014 to a 19,000-square-foot facility on a 10-acre lot at 2105 S. Seminole Trail where it remains today.
In honor of Yoder’s 40th anniversary, the country store has been running specials every month as a thank-you to the community. Michael Yoder laughed as he recalled the August special,
For their 40th anniversary, Yoder’s has been running specials every month to say thank you to their loyal community.
Yoder laughed as he recalled the August special.
“We’ve been having sales and giveaways every month and sometimes it’s been a lot of prep work and a big event. In August, I decided to take a more laidback approach and return sandwiches to our opening-year prices. Back in 1984, we sold sandwiches for $1.99. I thought, ‘What an easy idea, no prep work and it blesses the community.’ Until that first day in August when we blew through a record number of sandwiches. We have never made that many sandwiches and doubled our highest selling day ever. We normally have six ladies working at the lunch counter. We had to find a way to get 11 women to make sandwiches every day that week. We learned there’s always a way to do more when needed. We can make changes and improve. It’s how every day brings a surprise.”
Given his family’s and his store’s history, it is perhaps unsurprising what Michael Yoder is most proud of.
“I’m most proud of my team of employees. My team can rise to the challenge of sandwich-making, but they can do so much more too. We start every morning with prayer and scripture before the store opens. God expects us to do what we can, and it’s my job to promote a culture that encourages staff to want to come to work and stay with us.”
That team, which started with just Michael Yoder, his parents and three siblings, has grown to 45 today.
“I can want anything to happen in the business, but without a team to do it, it won’t matter," Michael Yoder said. “We truly care about them and want to hear about their life. Starting our morning together with prayer and verse allows us to be ready for whatever God may have us do that day."
He said that starting the workday glorifying God puts everyone in the mindset to pursue Yoder’s three-pronged approach to success: prompt customer service, quality products and a wholesome Christian atmosphere.
Not only does Yoder’s Country Market require a small, godly army for sandwich specials but also for the petting zoo next door.
The Yoders never intended to run a zoo alongside their country store.
"It just sort of happened with our hobby farm, which my dad and mom started," Michael Yoder said. "My father was always thinking about blessing the community. We don’t have zoos around here, so he thought what a great way to bless families right here. Forty years later, we’re still hoping to bless those around us by sharing our animals."
Having an on-site petting zoo bucks the traditional grocery store model, but so does being closed on Sundays.
“We have no plans to open on Sunday, ever," Michael Yoder said. "It’s the Lord’s day, and we worship and rest and want our employees to be able to as well. But the community is always welcome to come to the petting zoo here. Just because we are closed on Sundays doesn’t mean people can’t come to enjoy our animals. It’s a blessing for everyone, and we want them here even if we’re not."
As it did for so many others, the pandemic had an impact on Yoder’s. Unlike other operations though, the international crisis was a boon to the Madison County country store.
“COVID affected every business, but it grew our business significantly," Michael Yoder said. "We’re a bulk store, along with regular groceries, and for the first few months when preppers needed flour and yeast and wheat like never before, we never ran out. People ate Yoder’s foods every day, because we had prepared foods for them to take home and heat up when they got tired of cooking. Then people received their stimulus checks, and our furniture sold like crazy because everyone was redoing their backyards and wanted to spend more time outside, so they bought our outdoor furniture.”
Like his father, Michael Yoder believes it’s his purpose to bless the community. And while the Yoders are devout Mennonites, they don’t require employees practice their faith, only that they keep their values and virtues top of mind when serving others. If their priorities are straight, Michael Yoder said, everything else will work out.
“Priorities are always the biggest challenge," he said. "My walk with God, my family, volunteering at church is all more important than business, and if I keep that as the priority, Yoder’s will be just fine for the next 40 years."
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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